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5 Tips for Fishing a Tough Bite
By Jarryd Parkinson
Many of us have had those hot bites that keep us coming back. It doesn’t seem to matter what you throw, where you throw it or how you retrieve it, the planets have aligned and the fish are on fire. What about on those other days that we don’t talk about as much, when the fish have their mouths glued shut, the conditions are poor and the bite is slow. Here’s some tips to help you prepare for those days and some things that you can do to minimise them or change them up when they do roll around… and they will.
Gearing Up
Tackle selection is a great starting point and by setting out with the right gear, you increase your chances of success when the bite is tough. To get you started, I believe you can’t go past a TT Black Mamba spin rod and I commonly fish a 7’, 3-6kg model, paired with an Okuma ITX-2500H reel. This combo is ideal for targeting species such as flathead, snapper, and mulloway, which are high on my target list.
A light rod makes hopping and retrieving your soft plastics a breeze and a quality reel will handle the punishment, should you hook that extra-large fish. My ITX is spooled with 10lb Platypus braid paired up with a 15lb fluorocarbon leader. In the plastic department, it is hard to go past a ZMan 4” DieZel MinnowZ paddle tail for good water movement or a prawn imitation such as the ZMan 3.5” EZ ShrimpZ for a perfect bait imitation.
Plastic Colour Selection
When it comes to choosing your plastic colour, this can be a crucial key to getting fish to bite in a tough bite period. When it comes to targeting flathead, my top three go-to colours are Pearl, Motor Oil and Gold Rush. All three colours can be used in different fishing situations, with different water quality.
When fishing a high tide in a tough bite my go to colour is pearl, a perfect mullet or baitfish imitation and a proven winner for myself personally. Once the tide drops, the water quality generally deteriorates, and the drains start to expose themselves. This is where UV colours such as Motor Oil come into play. In the dirty water, any extra advantages that you can create, you should take advantage of. In this situation, using a UV colour allows the fish to see your plastic more clearly in the dirty water, thus increasing the number of bites.
Fishing Bite Times
Even though it means waking up well before daylight, getting on the water super early and fishing sunrise can often result in some awesome fishing, generally with at least an hour bite period. If you accidently sleep in, look for tide changes. A change of tide can often result in bait moving up and down in channels, while also spilling out of drains and pushing up on flats, which can get the flathead fired up.
Lining up these two factors, sunrise, and a tide change, is essential. These two factors combined can produce some of the best flathead fishing available to anglers and have resulted in some of my best flathead sessions, even when the bite has been tough!
Using Scent
If there is anything that can give me the edge on a tough bite, you better believe that I’m going to use it. Some people believe that fish can’t smell, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Chucking on some Pro-Cure scent can give you that edge on a tough bite. Pilchard and Mullet scents have worked best for me. Make sure you apply a small amount of scent on each side on your plastic and then run a line down the back. This ensures that your plastic has a full coverage.
Approaching The Spot
One of the less talked about, but a super important tip, is when approaching your spot, make sure you cut the outboard motor off early, especially on the flats or when fishing shallow water. Having the outboard motor on will spook a lot of fish. The last thing you want to do is see a monster flathead take off from the bank that you’re about to fish, simply because you spooked it.
The best technique would be to use your electric trolling motor to get onto the flat or even better, if you can, drift with no motors going at all. By doing this the chances are a lot higher of that fish coming and smacking your lure, instead of shooting off. When it’s tough going you need to make sure you take any opportunities that you can get to swing the session in your favour.
You’re ready to go!
Now that you have read these tips and tricks to landing a few fish on a tough bite, it’s time to get out there and catch a couple. Remember to get there nice and early and hit the prime bite times. Choose an appropriate soft plastic colour to suit the water clarity and don’t forget to smear that scent on. Now, sneak up on those fish and start casting.
Good Luck!
Jarryd
Gearing Up:
TT Black Mamba Spin Rods - BMS701M 7' 3-6kg
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels - ITX-2500H
Platypus Pulse X8 Braid - 10lb
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader - 15lb
ZMan 4" DieZel MinnowZ
ZMan 3.5" EZ ShrimpZ
TT HeadlockZ HD Jigheads
TT Big EyeZ Jigheads
Mullet Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent
Pilchard Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent